Introduction

Abstract

The idea of world heritage has evolved from fairly straightforward site protection schemes to international agreements on the preservation of intangible culture and the rights of indigenous populations. Conventions over the last five decades have demonstrated various attempts to strike a balance between the heritage rights of nation-states and communities, both global and local. It is now recognized by all that archaeological sites, including their antiquities and protection, belong to the national entity with dominion over the territory in which they were found. This simple maxim, however, has been subject to multiple interpretations. The particular problem that this Forum addresses, that of heritage preservation in places recognized by the United Nations as occupied, is one of the most controversial issues in eastern Mediterranean archaeology.While the embattled Middle East often comes to mind when this topic surfaces, the subject of the following essays, northern Cyprus, generally receives less attention. The contributors to this discussion approach the problem from different perspectives, but, as professionals involved with the protection of heritage, they are all equally concerned about the fate of the extraordinarily rich Cypriot past. The writers express their views candidly and do not necessarily agree with one another. As most of us recognize, consensus in our field is difficult to achieve even on insignificant matters. This Forum was designed, however, to address the more momentous concerns that archaeological journals seldom take on, with the hope of contributing in a positive manner to the ongoing discussions and debates.As the contributors to this issue's Forum know well, the microcosmic changes that we are trained to observe are directly affected by consequential events in the larger world. It is often thought that scholars of the past are ill-equipped to deal with the political entanglements of the present, but the reader will find that the following discussion clearly contradicts that view.